Parliament has ushered in a new chapter for the country’s health sector, approving a record Shs4.48 trillion for the FY 2025/26 health budget.
This historic allocation—nearly double last year’s funding—now represents 8.1% of the national budget, the highest share ever committed to health.
This landmark decision signals a strong commitment by both Parliament and the Government of Uganda to prioritize healthcare, particularly at the community level.
The funding will breathe life into several critical areas, including the operationalization of Health Centre IVs, improved primary healthcare services, expanded e-health systems, and enhanced nutrition, reproductive health, immunization, emergency referrals, and specialized medical services.
One of the most notable aspects of the budget is the continued rollout of Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs)—a step that reflects the government’s determination to professionalize and empower Uganda’s community health workforce.
In Uganda’s community health ecosystem, Village Health Teams (VHTs) and CHEWs are essential. VHTs work at the grassroots, providing health promotion and basic services in villages, while CHEWs—introduced more recently—are based at the parish level, serving as a more professional supervisory layer supporting VHTs.
Since 2007, Living Goods has worked alongside the Ministry of Health and other partners to strengthen community health through the DESC approach—ensuring community health workers (CHWs) are Digitally enabled, Equipped, Supervised, and Compensated.
These CHWs serve as trusted frontline caregivers, delivering essential services such as treating childhood illnesses, monitoring nutrition, supporting reproductive health, facilitating early disease detection, making referrals, and following up on immunizations—directly at the household level.
Evidence underscores the power of these community-based interventions. A Cluster-Randomized Trial conducted in Uganda between 2016 and 2021 showed that digitally enabling and financially incentivizing VHTs led to a 27% reduction in under-five mortality rates.
With over 75% of Uganda’s disease burden classified as preventable, empowering CHWs remains the most efficient and equitable strategy for advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Further studies reaffirm this approach. A quasi-experiment conducted in 2023 by independent investigators examined the effect of financial incentives on CHW performance, motivation, and retention.
The findings were clear: with the right tools, supervision, digital technology, and compensation, CHWs achieved better family planning outcomes, improved referral completion, more frequent household visits, and reduced cases of childhood illness.
Wakiso District provides a living example of this transformation. Assistant District Health Officer David Ssekaboga credited CHWs with significantly improving community health reporting through the electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS).
“Since the start of this year, when CHWs officially began using the system, reporting rates for community health services have increased from 45% to 62.5%,” Ssekaboga noted.
“This improved data is now driving timely and effective health interventions in the district.”
Amid recent reductions in donor funding, Uganda’s renewed investment in its human capital—particularly community health—offers a promising path forward.
By equipping CHWs with the skills, tools, supervision, and fair pay they need, Uganda not only safeguards community health gains but also deepens local ownership and accountability for health services.
The 2025/26 health budget is more than just a fiscal achievement; it is a decisive, forward-looking investment.
If fully and effectively implemented, it has the potential to dramatically improve health outcomes for millions of Ugandans, particularly in underserved communities.
At Living Goods, we stand ready to partner with the Ministry of Health, development partners, and other health actors to translate this budget commitment into lasting change.
With proven solutions, technical expertise, and trusted partnerships, we remain dedicated to supporting Uganda’s bold steps toward universal, community-driven healthcare—one village, one household at a time.